Tears
by Parallel07
Summary: A song and a short fic turned multi-chapter story. One night, one hormonal mistake, one amazing miracle. No one every saw this one coming, and unfortunately, neither did Edward. EdxWinry
1. Chapter 1

_(AN: Greetings all! This is a song I made with Ed and Winry in mind it is to be assumed that it is in Winry's POV and impossible to steal because if you were to attempt said stealing the keyboard would eat your hand...seriously don't steal this stuff it's mine. )_

Tears

Turn around so I can see

If your in pain from leaving me

Catch me now my heart is breakin fast

You tell me not to cry but it won't last

Oh it won't last.

CHORUS

Than my tears will fall anew

and when you are not here, they fall for you

Now hold me in your arms, till they dry up

Though it might be a dream

I need your touch

Cause it's too much, oh it's too much.

As I walk down this dirt road

I daydream that you might come home

Cause though you said that "it will never be"

That doesn't take the hope away from me

Oh, away from me.

Then my tears will fall anew

and when you are not here, they fall for you

Now hold me in your arms, till they dry up

Though it might be a dream

I need your touch

Oh your too much, yeah your too much

BRIDGE

Ohh cause when I gasp for breath

I cry out "Oh my God, I need him"

My tears are falling fast

and your not here to catch...them

Than my tears they fall anew

And when you are not here they fall for you

Now hold me in your arms, till they dry up

Though this might be a dream

I need your touch

Ohhh my tears are falling fast and your not here to catch...them

_(AN: Well, I decided I'm also going to write a short story with this, but I need time to think so give me a week. Bye Bye for now!)_


	2. Chapter 2

_(AN: Well here is the promised chapter. Hope it entertains you and gives you a sad melancholy feeling,'cause that's what it's suppose to do NOTE: I kind of stole this first chap from a doujinshi I read it was a little graphic to for my taste but the ending was just so...heart-achingly beautiful like a dying butterfly or something, I just had to explore it.)_

_Tears Chap2_

Waking up, Winry had honestly been foolish enough to believe that she would open her eyes to a pair of strong arms holding her in there dissimilar cold and warm embrace, she had thought that maybe, for just once, Ed would have stayed to kiss her...no...even just hug her goodbye. Sadly this was not the case.

Instead she had awoken to cold sheets and a dull ache in her lower abdomen that told a painfully clear tale of the events that had come to pass last night.

Losing her virginity to Ed really didn't shock her as much as it probably should, lying on the cool white sheets all Winry felt was pain, a familiar pain that she had come to associate with her best friends sudden absences, also she felt a dampness on her cheek, sadly this wetness was also familiar, much more familiar then it probably should be for a girl as young as herself.

Reaching up to rub away the moisture Winry almost felt that she could classify her tears, she had certainty cried enough.

...Of worry and anxiety when Ed and Al had shown up at her doorstep broken and battleworn.

...Of anger and frustration when Ed had displayed his utter ignorance for her feelings when he subtlety brushed of her attempts to understand, if only slightly, the nature of his travels.

...And just last night she had cried tears of joy and ecstasy when he had claimed to love her, not through words, but through actions. Actions so sweet and gentle that for a moment, one breathtaking moment they had been lovers displaying there absolute dedication to each other through soft caresses and gusty gasps of the others name.

Yes it was true Winry had cried a innumerable amount of tears and as she made to look at the time on her bedside clock, only to find a hastily scribbled note, she mentally added another group to her endless list before picking up the paper, almost screaming in hopeless frustration, and trowing it aggressively at the floor.

... Now her tears were of sadness and desperate hope over the note now floating harmlessly to the ground, the words on front may have been hastily scribbled but that didn't lessen the mental blow they dealt her.

...'_See You'..._

Curling into a ball as if to hold herself together, Winry tasted her salty tears before feeling the wetness of them on her cheek.

_[AN: I know, I know, it was short and distinctly drabble like. But that is what I promised, only now you have the power to change that. With only a simple request I will, with my magical magic powers, make this a full-blown story, All you have to do is ask, so review! (Oh! and a fun little fact I am currently updating from a sleep inn hotel, so marvel at my dedication. Marvel I tell you! P)Bye now!_

_**parallel**_


	3. Chapter 3

(AN: Well it certainly has been a while hasn't it... Ok, over a year... FINE. A God damn long time. POINT IS. Update. Yeaaahhh, I've decided to turn this into a chapter story based on my own personal enjoyment. ^_^;)

Tears Chapter 1: Anserine

'Stupid'

'Stupid'

'Stupid'

'So incredible stupid...'

Maybe it was harsh, but Edward certainty deemed himself deserving of the mental beating. What had he been thinking? There wasn't a chance in hell that what he had done was either right or at all appropriate.

At the time.

Yes, at the time. Sure, Edward completely expected things between him and Winry to progress... but not now.. and not like this...

'Stupid' 'Stupid' 'Stupid'

And so, the mantra continued to stomp through his head.

"Brother, your talking to yourself."

"AL!" Ed nearly jumped out of his skin. "W-what are you doing in here?"

"I've been in here for the last five minutes... are you feeling ok, brother?"

Ed sighed to himself, he couldn't tell Al... he had no idea how to.

"I'm fine Al... I guess my thoughts just got away from me there..."

Ed stood from his position on his bed and looked to the suit of armor standing near the doorway to his hotel room. "I guess its time to take off than?"

"Yep. If we hurry we can get to Central by midday."

Ed's face turned sullen. " Why are we going there again?" he asked grumpily.

"Brother... we've discussed this, Winry said that Father was staying there and needed to see us, its important, obviously."

Ed brushed off the pang of guilt he felt when Winry's name was mentioned, and halfheartedly carried on, he new this was a losing battle anyway. "I don't see how anything he could have to say would interest me."

An exasperated sound issued from the antique armor. "So your not interested at all? I find that hard to believe."

Ed pulled on his trademark coat and reached for the door handle "Whatever." he said, "Lets just go and get this over with." "Afterward, we need to find out where that stupid Greed-Ling hybrid ran off to. I have a feeling that with the proper amount of persuasion we might be able to sway him to our 'side.'"

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The sun was beating down brutally on the fields surrounding the Rockbell house. To be honest, the heat was making Winry a little sluggish and feverish. Not that it mattered much, there wasn't a whole lot to do today.

After waking up and tinkering with her latest project, (a foot for a farmer who got his mangled in a nasty land tiller accident) Winry had been quite surprised that there was nothing to do. All that time working endlessly in the summer heat of Rush Valley had left her unprepared for the slow drag that she was always forced to deal with when working at home as the summer 'accident' session tapered.

...It really was a shame that she had nothing to do because an unoccupied mind left her open to attacks from the ruthless thoughts clamoring in her head.

Thoughts of life...

Thoughts of love...

...Thoughts of Ed...

She rolled onto her side and hid her face in the newly washed sheets on her bed. She allowed the thoughts to finally break from her carefully constructed barrier and felt the cold wash of sorrow come over her.

She had known what she was doing . She had been fully aware of the implications she had set forth when she crawled into Ed's bed in with nothing but her underclothes on. Had she expected him to politely decline her oh so blatant offer?

"So incredibly stupid..." Winry murmured. She didn't even know who she was talking to anymore... Herself? Ed? She smiled shakily.

"Probably both..."

"Winry! There's lunch on the table if your hungry!" The thought of food made her stomach turn, but she stood from her bed and headed for the stairs anyway. Maybe a glass of water would ease her headache and calm her churning stomach?

"Coming Granny!"

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Al was not quite as oblivious as Ed seemed to think. On the contrary Al had to say that he thought himself to be very perceptive... or maybe it could just be that one; he never sleeps, and two; though he might be missing a good chuck of his senses he can, in fact, _hear_.

The other night at Winry's house he had been in the guest room next to Winry's room and right below Ed's. His cold state of faux sleep had been broken when he heard Winry's door creak open and her quite footsteps padding down the hall. He contemplated disturbing her midnight excursion but stopped that thought in its tracks when he heard the footsteps head up the stairs.

There was only one other guest room up there. The room where Ed was staying.

He had stayed silent and listened carefully. What he heard would have surely caused him to blush... if he had any blood to do it with that was.

So now, Al sat in a train car, his brother sitting across from him and staring out the window.

He hadn't told him a thing and Al was pretty sure he intended to keep it that way. It didn't make any sense at all, but then again, Ed rarely made any sense to begin with.

Al stared at Ed with a strange sort of piety-humor in his soul, he couldn't keep quiet.

"Brother, you seem a little listless... you sure nothings wrong?" Al's question was innocent curiosity personified.

"M'fine..."

Ed's response was less than impressive, and Al was far from satisfied, so he continued to inconspicuously pry.

"Not sick?"

No reply.

"Angry at someone?"

Still nothing, so Al decided to push his, already very shaky, luck.

"Guilty about something?"

Ed twitched the slightest bit and his eyes slide over to meet Al's.

Al would have smirked if he had the face to do it.

"Ah, so that's it is it... what did you do, brother? Al looked imploringly at his brother when he got no reply. So the cute brother card it is then. "You know you can tell me anything..."

Oh, yes, innocence personified.

An annoyed look passed over Ed's face and he shifted his body away from the window. "Al... its really not something that I can comfortable discuss with you..."

Al decided he had had enough of this beating around the bush. "Brother, I hear-"

"Currently pulling into Central Station! Everyone for Central!"

The blaring voice over the speaker knocked the anxiety out of Ed and he jumped up from his seated position.

"Now's not the time to talk about this Al." Ed said. "We've gotta meet the old man." He briskly walked out of the car intent on escaping the questioning. Al followed with a sigh and a fleeting thought.

"You can't hid from this forever, brother."

"...You can't hid from _her_ forever..."

(AN: Well, that's it... blehg, I'm not impressed... its kinda short, and I'm pretty sure its got more mistakes in it then a dyslexic kids English midterm (no offense, my best friends dyslexic.) But Ah'well

It'll do... It'll do...)

Review and stuff 3


	4. Chapter 4

(AN: Chapter two. I did this speedy quick :D ***proud of herself*** despite my best efforts it still turned out dull-ish... I swear it gets better. Eventually. ***twiddles thumbs and whistles*)**

(PS: Ok. So. I've been asked about the ages of Ed, Winry, and Al and I figured I should take some time to explain... this story will loosely follow the MANGA verse. it picks up around chap 84, with slight differences, for instance, Al doesn't get split from Ed and they both briefly end up at Winry's. From here I'm going to TRY to loosely follow the plot, but its going to be changed to fit my... twists. *coughs* yeah. Anyway, Ed is 16. Winry's 16. And Al's 15. Hope that covers it :D)

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Chapter 2: Empiricism

While Winry's directions of 'Central Slums' was not the most helpful on record (Central was a big place dammit) Ed and Al soon found, that were ever there father goes, he always seems to garner some bits of attention in his wake, and as much as Ed was loathe to admit it, he could sympathies entirely.

So after a quick chat with a comely middle age women who's broken oven had been miraculously fixed by a "kind man with the most startling golden eyes." The brothers had discovered that there Father had temporarily stopped in the _Southern _City. Coincidentally, the location was only several miles away from where they had found the women.

With every mile that passed Ed's shoulders seemed to become stiffer and stiffer, like the weight of this looming meeting was pressing down on him, and it was, Ed could feel it.

"Al... how awkward do you think this is gonna be? On a scale of one to excruciating."

"Its going to be as hard as you make it, Brother, so let's say... indefinite?"

Ed gave a shaky grin and moved on into the city, a man sitting on a wooden barrel came into view and Ed's shoulders suddenly seemed to reach there limit in terms of tautness. If nothing else, Ed recognized Hohenheim's hair, which draped limply down his back.

"Damn it all to hell..." Al ignored his brothers muttered curse and initiated the conversation that could possibly change there lives.

"...Father?"

Hohenheim's head arose slowly, when he set his eyes on Al, his face took on an oddly comical look.

"My antique armor set?!"

Al's metaphorical eyebrows shot to his hairline; there had defiantly been more flattering introductions.

Ed, who had previously been half hidden by Al's hulking frame, rose to his brothers defense in a spectacular show of angry gestures.

"That's my _brother _you bastardy, sad excuse for a father!"

Al hadn't taken much offense to the mistake in the first place and quickly placed his hand on Ed's shoulder. Well, at least he was less tense now...

"Ah, my mistake then, very sorry, Alphonse, Edward. I must say, I've heard about the "giant suit of armor" that people say you have cloaked yourself in, but I didn't quite expect _this _suit of armor..." Hohenhiem kept his voice deceivingly pleasant, and looked up at Al from his place on the barrel with a calm outward appearance.

"That's ok... that was better then how some people react, um, ...Father?" Al cautiously tried the title, it felt good to say and the slight inclination of Hohenhiem's head prompted Al to decided to contradict his brother's tendency to call their father by name.

"Edward." Hohenhiem shifted his attention onto the elder of the two.

Alphonse could already see the storm brewing in his brothers eyes. He had never known enough about his father to work up any bitterness about his mysterious departure but Ed had been there for it all, and despite his greatest efforts to hid it, Ed truly was deeply hurt by his fathers abandonment. Even to this day.

Hohenheim only smiled and softly spoke, "You've grown."

Ed's annoyance with the entire situation seemed to finally reach the point of no return after this soft spoken observation.

"What the _hell_ are you playing at, old man?! Is there a point to this all? Because believe me, Al and I have _much _more important things to do." Edward stopped to breath and regain his composure before speaking again in a much more even tone.

"Do you even know what we've been through?" Edward snorted "Wait, of course you don't, because _you weren't there!"_

For a brief moment, the only sounds were of Ed's heavy breathing and the people milling about around them, making sure to cut a large swath around the family feud.

"...I never meant to hurt either of you." Hoehenheim said.

"Well its a little too damn late for that, _father._ Mom's dead and Al and I will _never_ be able to enjoy the childhood we deserved."

Ed's voice was even as he finally asked, "And if nothing else comes of the conversation, all I want to know, is _why?"_

Their father's face seemed to age before them, and he lowered his eyes down to the ground. "Have a seat, boys, I think it's time I finally explain some things to you,"

Ed took a seat on one of the wooden barrels and Al lowered himself to the ground. They were anxious to here what they had wondered for years, and as Hohenhiem opened his mouth to speak, Ed had an odd thought.

'_Why is it, that the only thing on him that looks aged, is his eyes...'_

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_

AN: Now I know its bad to assume, but what good FMA fan doesn't know the Homunculus story? You don't? Look it up. I'm not particularly interested in restating the obvious =)

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"I quickly discovered that this _body_ I was given does not age. It's the ultimate torture, you know. Being forced to watch the people around you die, as you stay forever young..."

Hohenhiem's tale ended with a heaving sigh. A sigh that told of centuries of living alone, emotionally cold and socially isolated. Ed's feelings were a tumulus tidal wave that seemed to crash against his stomach and batter his heart. One look at his brother's rigid posture proved that Al mirrored these feelings exactly.

Unbeknownst to this fierce inner war, Hohenheim continued on with his story. "After a few failed attempts at keeping any friends, I realized it was impossible." He looked down in shame. "I gave into the belief that I could never have any loved ones, least I hurt them, and myself, in the process. I stuck to it as well, until I met your mother... dear Trisha"

He nearly sobbed her name, and succeeded in giving his sons a start, before calming his breath and launching into another nostalgic tale...

_(flashback)_

_It had been a long day. Hoenheim's research had made no progress at all and it seemed as though he had nothing to look forward to, even sleep, one small allowance that this body granted him, had soundly alluded him._

_The bar across Main Street had looked inviting, rather sleezy, as these businesses tended to be, but inviting all the same... _

_Well, why the hell not? It's not like he could get drunk anyway. With a humorless snort, Hoenheim made his way across the cobbled street and though the brightly lit door. It would be a lonely evening considering his only drinking buddy, Pinako Rockbell, was miles away on automail business._

_The inside was exactly what the alchemist had expected, dimly lit and smokey. The curtains were threadbare with a hue of faded rose and the cedar floors were clean but distinctly worn in. Above all else the friendly atmosphere of the bar was intoxicating, each customer seemed eager to meet new friends over shots of liquor and glasses of beer. _

_Every customer that is, except Hoenheim. He took a seat on a cushioned stool at the far side of the bar, he wasn't really in the mood for alcohol, but ordered a whiskey to keep up the appearance of normalcy._

_Though the bar seemed to be a reasonably respectable place, it wasn't long before a small disagreement started behind him. He let his eyes travel lazily to the table adjacent to his stool._

_A flip of wavy chestnut hair caught his eye. A clear, creamy complexion garnered more then a once over. And twinkling gray eyes had him captivated. Now more then a little interested, Hoenheim listened in to the heated conversation._

"_Charles, Why did you follow me? There's absolutely nothing you could say to change a thing about what you've done" The beautiful women said stiffly._

"_Trish, I love you, I _adore_ you, please don't tell me that one stupid mistake can change everything we had?_

_Ah, it was now clear to Hoenheim what the poor women had gone through. His mouth tightened into a thin line as the conversation continued._

"_Charles. I believe myself to be a very reasonable women, I give second chances when they are deserved and I try to be the best fiancee I can, but I will not be played for a fool. I know how men like you work. It's always one little mistake, until its two, and then three, and soon enough there are just no more 'I forgive you's' left."_

_Charles' (or doucheface, as Hoenheim had decided to affectionately nickname him) face clenched into an ugly expression of anger. "Trisha... do not argue with me. You will come back to my flat with me and we'll forget this whole little mess ever happened, _ok?" _A fleeting look of danger passed through Charles' ('douche-face's') visage as Trisha stood angrily from her wooden chair._

"_No Charles, I am not going home with you. This is the last time that I will stand for you _crap_... and hopefully the last time I'll have to see your face."_

_That seemed to be the last straw for this Charles character. He jumped from his chair and roughly snatched Trisha's arm. He pulled her to him, harshly driving her into the chair she had been sitting in and against his hard chest._

_Normally, Hoenheim would have left this situation for some other chivalrous sap to deal with, but this women had captured his attention unlike any other... and Hoenheim had known _a lot_ of women. His body acted before his mind could catch up and within seconds his left hand was on the dark haired man's shoulder, and his right was driving towards his face. He stopped short about a millimeter from his nose._

"_I think the lady here wants you to leave her alone..."_

(End flashback)

Ed sat stock still on the barrel across from his father. He knew very well the question that was begging to be answered, the only thing that had kept he and Al under the impression that their Father had never cared for them. It was the one question Ed had wanted to ask all his life.

But he couldn't even open his mouth.

Al spoke, "Father... if you loved Mom so completely... why did you leave us? With no communication at all? We just... don't understand, we never did"

A wry smile graced Hoenheim's lips. He knew this question was coming, he had anticipated it the moment he saw his son's come over the bend down the city slum street. He shifted on his barrel to alleviate the ache his back was starting to develop.

"You remember that 'original Homunculus' I told you about earlier?"

"Yes." Al responded as Ed gave a short nod.

"About 11 years ago he came looking for me... Trisha was in the house at the time and you boys were over at... the Rockbells', I believe. For what was possibly the _first_ time in my life, I was scared, scared and ashamed." Hoenheim's eye's were downcast. Nearly 11 years had elapsed, but the knowledge of what could have happened on that day stayed with him.

He looked at his sons, for whom he had given up so much to save from Homunculus's plan. "He wanted for me to join him, said I could be valuable to him in his fight to end humankind's rule over the world." Hoenheim paused to observe the expression of shock on Ed's face and Al's ridged posture, before continuing on." I turned him down of course, I told him to leave my cursed life alone. Hadn't he ruined it enough?" Another pause. Hoenheim put his hand over his eyes as if to hid from his sons gaze.

"He... persisted. Kept bribing and bribing, but didn't threaten, he believed that threatening was a human method. I... thought he wouldn't go to that point, didn't think it possible... but eventually he made an offer I couldn't refuse."

Ed grasped at the chance to condemn his father, the world he had built around him was tumbling around his ears and he _needed_ something to squash the empathy rising in his chest. Ed had been ready to open his mouth and release a verbal lashing worthy of the history books, when a quiet hand and a weary look stopped him.

"_He threatened to take you both away." _Ed nearly slipped from his barrel and Al's gasp was audible.

"For what purpose I do not know, but you can be sure it would have ended in your death, both physical and mental." Hoenheim seemed to deem this a perfect time to pause his story telling, as his sons struggled to digest this knew information.

Edward seemed to be halfway between anger and joy. On one hand this news meant that his father hadn't ever really done anything to purposefully hurt his family, and Ed had been horribly mistaken all along. But, on the other hand, some part of Ed had always wanted this to be true. He had always secretly longed for anything that would prove him wrong, and here he had it.

In the chaos of his thoughts, Ed had almost, _almost_, forgotten about Al, one look at his brother proved Ed's suspicion. Al seemed purely happy to be proved right in his empathy for their father.

"So I ran. Ran away till I was sure_ he_ would never come near Risembol looking for me again. It worked, obviously. But I never thought something other then Homunculus would manage to destroy you boys..." He bowed his head and put a hand over his eyes. "You have to believe that I am more sorry then words can ever express, because when it comes down to it, your right Edward, this is all my fault."

It was the the words Ed had longed to hear for all he could remember of his life, but they left a bitter feeling in his stomach. It was odd to think of now, but Ed was suddenly reminded of the revelation he had come to as he traveled down the cobbled street to meet his father.

He hadn't actually been able to remember what his father had looked like. What was the exact shade of his eyes again? Hazel? Golden -like his own? Or gray -like Al's? And his face, was it angular? Did he have a strong jaw? In Edward's mind his father had never had an actual face, or recognizable features at all really, he had just been this _figure_ whom Edward was _sure_ had to be an arrogant bastard.

What shocked Ed the most, was that his father looked nothing like what he had imagined. His eyes were a tired and sad gold, his face _was_ angular and his jaw _was_ strong but they were both lined with stress wrinkles. This was not the face of a man who would leave his family on whim. It was the face of a man who fought to defend them.

…Well damn.

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Al had known from the start...Well ok, he hadn't _known_ from the start, but he knew there was more to the story then what had met his and his brothers eyes. So now that the most important issues had been addressed, there was really only one more variable.

"So father, was this all that you wanted us here for? Is there more?"

Hoenheim had been solely focused on Edwards reaction, (Ed _still _couldn't seem to form coharent sentences) but at this question he looked back to Al.

"Well... yes. I guess you could say that." Hoenheim paused, he seemed to have a habit of doing that, before answering Al's unspoken question.

"I... need you help."

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(AN: right now. I can totally tell that anyone reading this is going "WTF? How is _this _EdxWinry?"I am very sorry if this person is you. SOOOOOO I should probably take this opportunity to tell you that there will be VERY LITTLE Edward Winry contact... sorry, its necessary. And so was this chapter. I swear that not all of them will be this... sob story like. Next update will be around October: 25)

I own nothing.

Review :3


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